The Sinai Bedouins, who have long been unhappy with their treatment by Egypt's government, have banded together with Hamas militants who broke out of Egyptian jails during the recent protests, the FT reports. The Bedouins dominate the lucrative smuggling routes into Gaza.

Israel is understandably alarmed by the deteriorating situation in the Sinai desert. Combined with the possibility of a new Egyptian leadership sympathetic to Hamas, a growing militant threat along the Gaza border could have disastrous consequences for regional security.